Punishing players was necessary to maintain discipline: Butt

Lahore, Mar. 15 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has said that punishing some players was necessary to end the culture of indiscipline in the national team.

"For long now, the trend we saw in the team was that some players were only playing for themselves as individuals and not keeping team interest paramount," the Daily Times quoted Butt, as saying.

"You could see this from the body language of players on the tour of Australia what was going on in the team. There was indiscipline. So we took what we felt was the best possible action against the players," he added.

Acting on the recommendations of an inquiry committee set up after Pakistan's dismal performance in Australia, the PCB dropped senior batsmen Muhammad Yousuf and Younus Khan for indefinite periods.

The board banned Shoaib Malik and Rana Navedul Hasan for one year besides fining them Rs 2 million each. It also fined Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal Rs 3 million each, besides imposing a fine of Rs 2 million on Umar Akmal.

"We have sent out a clear message to the players that we will no longer tolerate any act that goes against the team or board policies," Butt said. (ANI)